Washington Post columnist suggests Biden should allow more immigrants into US to fix rising inflation

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A Washington Post columnist suggested on Monday that President Biden could solve the mounting inflation crisis by rolling back border restrictions and allowing more immigrants to enter the United States.

In an oped titled "Democrats are missing the bigger immigration issue," Washington Post columnist and CNN commentator Catherine Rampell scolded moderate Democrats for attempting to block President Biden from lifting existing Title 42 immigration restrictions without a plan in place amid an expected surge of migrants at the southern border. With the midterms fast approaching, Rampell said Democrats should be less worried about allowing in too many immigrants, and more worried about admitting "too few."

"Democrats are terrified that a coming border surge might tank their midterm chances, But they have largely ignored a much more serious immigration-related political risk," she wrote. "The problem in the months ahead isn’t that the United States will allow in too many immigrants; it’s that we’ll admit too few, particularly the kinds of workers who can fill critical labor-market shortages."

A Texas Department of Public Safety officer in Del Rio, Texas directs a group of migrants who crossed the border and turned themselves in. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

BIPARTISAN BILL TO EXTEND TITLE 42 LATEST SIGN OF MODERATE DEM OPPOSITION TO BIDEN BORDER MOVE

The Title 42 order was implemented in March 2020 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and has been used by both the Trump and Biden administrations to quickly expel a majority of migrants at the border. Biden has pledged to lift the restrictions by May 23, but some Democrats say that the administration is ill-prepared for the large increase of border crossings expected when Title 42 expulsions are halted. But, according to Rampell, these lawmakers are simply missing the bigger picture.

"They have been so fixated on bad-faith right-wing attacks that they have missed the bigger, and much more serious, immigration-related liability: the millions of immigrants whose absence from the U.S. workforce is putting upward pressure on inflation. Which Democrats are being blamed for, and which voters appear to care much more about," she wrote.

Catherine Rampell: Democrats are missing the bigger immigration issue (Fox News)

"The United States is experiencing inflationary levels not seen in four decades," Rampell continued. "Americans are unhappy, and they are more than five times as likely to cite "inflation," "cost of living" or the economy in general than immigration as the nation’s biggest problem. These economic concerns are, however, rooted at least partly in immigration policy."

Rampell said that immigrants, "legal and otherwise, are 'missing; because of a combination of Trump policies, covid-19…and Biden’s foot-dragging." 

U.S. President Joe Biden has been receiving push back from moderate Democrats as he prepares to lift Title 42 immigration restrictions. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

The columnist blamed Biden for not rolling back Trump's immigration policies fast enough, claiming that his hesitancy to do so had a direct impact on worker shortages and exacerbated an already soaring inflation rate.

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"These issues are complicated, and not widely followed. A border surge is infinitely more telegenic and attack-ad-friendly than backlogged paperwork," she wrote. "But the missing immigrant workforce is what more directly affects voters’ pocketbooks — and, by extension, Democrats’ political fortunes."